November 21, 2009 marked an opening night for
Marcel Wander’s Daydreams exhibition at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art. Wanders, elected
Designer of the Year 2005/2006 at the Elle
Decoration International Design Awards and named
’the design world’s favorite star’ by the
Washington Post received Collab’s Design
Excellence Award on November 21. The exhibition
is sponsored by Collab, a collaboration of
design professionals and enthusiasts supporting
the modern an contemporary design collection at
the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and is hosted in
the 2300 square-foot Gollab Gallery through June
13, 2010. Thanks to the generosity of Lisa
Roberts and David Seltzer, the Collab Gallery
stands as the first permanent gallery for modern
and contemporary design in the Museum’s history.
The anticipated Mr. Wander’s “Happy Hour
Chandelier” was eagerly received. A performance
piece featuring award-wining choreographer and
dancer Naninne Linning who descended through the
chandelier and poured champagne for assembled
guests kept the audience applauding till the
bottles were emptied. And then on to the
exhibit that featured some of Wander’s most
essential works, including: Knotted Chair, Bell
Big Ben Bianco, Clavin, Lucky One, Extra Big
Shadow Floor Lamp, Moosehead, Crochet Chair, New
Antiques Chair, and Blow Lamp. As Wanders
continues to expand the scope of his work, he
takes on significant assignments, such as the
“Thor” restaurant project at the Hotel on
Rivington in New York, the Lute Suites,
converting a row of 17th -century Amsterdam
houses into hotel rooms, and the Mondrian South
Beach hotel in Miami. Wonders has said: “ I
want to make work that looks into the future,
but also back to the past. I want to use new
techniques, but also reintroduce that lost
quality of beauty.”
In addition to the Philadelphia Museum of Art,
Wander’s work has been exhibited and collected
by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria &
Albert Museum in London, the Stedelijk Museum in
Amsterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in
Rotterdam, the Central Museum in Utrecht, and
the Museum of Decorative Arts Copenhagen. His
clients include B&B Italia, Bisazza, Cappellini,
Flos, Google, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines,
Swarovski, Target
and Mooi.
"Since the beginning of my career, I have tried
to open hearts of people and inspire them to
make their lives into masterpieces. This
exhibition shows some highlights of my work in a
specially created Philly dreamscape. I hope the
exhibit will educate, entertain, and above all,
inspire those who visit, to dream." Marcel
Wanders, September 2009